Trump to deliver speech on drug prices on Friday: White House

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday will deliver a speech about lowering prescription drug prices, a White House spokesman said on Tuesday.

President Donald Trump speaks during a roundtable discussion on tax reform at the Cleveland Public Auditorium in Cleveland, Ohio, U.S., May 5, 2018. REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein

Trump, who has said that pharmaceutical companies are “getting away with murder” when it comes to charging consumers high prices for drugs, has delayed the speech at least twice. He made the lowering of drug prices a key issue during his 2016 presidential campaign, but his administration and the U.S. Congress have so far failed to deliver meaningful changes.

The administration outlined a series of proposals aimed at lowering drug prices in its budget proposal in February, but some health policy experts have said those policies would not significantly alter the pricing landscape.

It remains unclear what Trump will say in his speech or whether he will announce concrete policies that the administration plans to implement.